School of Molecular and Life Sciences, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6845, Australia.
Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, WA, 6102, Australia.
J Biol Inorg Chem. 2024 Jun;29(4):385-394. doi: 10.1007/s00775-024-02060-2. Epub 2024 May 12.
Brain iron content is widely reported to increase during "ageing", across multiple species from nematodes, rodents (mice and rats) and humans. Given the redox-active properties of iron, there has been a large research focus on iron-mediated oxidative stress as a contributor to tissue damage during natural ageing, and also as a risk factor for neurodegenerative disease. Surprisingly, however, the majority of published studies have not investigated brain iron homeostasis during the biological time period of senescence, and thus knowledge of how brain homeostasis changes during this critical stage of life largely remains unknown. This commentary examines the literature published on the topic of brain iron homeostasis during ageing, providing a critique on limitations of currently used experimental designs. The commentary also aims to highlight that although much research attention has been given to iron accumulation or iron overload as a pathological feature of ageing, there is evidence to support functional iron deficiency may exist, and this should not be overlooked in studies of ageing or neurodegenerative disease.
脑铁含量在“衰老”过程中被广泛报道会增加，这在从线虫、啮齿动物（小鼠和大鼠）到人类的多种物种中都有体现。鉴于铁的氧化还原活性，人们对铁介导的氧化应激作为自然衰老过程中组织损伤的一个因素，以及作为神经退行性疾病的一个风险因素进行了大量研究。然而，令人惊讶的是，大多数已发表的研究并未在衰老的生物学时间段内研究脑铁的动态平衡，因此，对于脑动态平衡在这一生命关键阶段如何发生变化，我们的了解还知之甚少。这篇评论文章探讨了关于衰老过程中脑铁动态平衡的文献，对目前使用的实验设计的局限性进行了批判。这篇评论文章还旨在强调，尽管许多研究都关注铁积累或铁过载作为衰老的病理特征，但有证据表明功能性铁缺乏可能存在，在衰老或神经退行性疾病的研究中不应忽视这一点。
